This invention relates generally to ophthalmic lenses and more particularly concerns a method and apparatus for cleaning ophthalmic lenses in preparation for application of a scratch resistant coating and for cleaning blocks used in the generation and finishing of ophthalmic lenses for reuse.
Presently, ophthalmic lenses and blocks are cleaned in a substantially manual procedure involving a number of workers located at a series of two or three wash stations and two or three rinse stations with the lens or block to be cleaned being passed through each station. The process is time consuming and labor intensive. A six percent lens scrap rate is typical of the process, the lenses not being usable either because of damage caused directly to the lens in the cleaning process or because the lens was not properly cleaned before the coating was applied.
In addition to the inefficiency of the process itself, the multiple bath process uses expensive, space consuming stations. Therefore, only one such system is generally used in a lab. However, because of the number of steps involved in the lens making process, it is inconvenient that the cleaning process must be performed at one location in the lab.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks which reduces the manpower necessary in the cleaning process. Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks which reduces the space required for the physical location of a cleaning station. Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks which makes the use of multiple cleaning stations in the same lab economically feasible. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning ophthalmic lenses and blocks which reduces the lens scrap rate of the process.